By the Light of A Silver(y) Millennium Moon
by Meara
Summary: Take one rare celestial event, add a cranky Luna, mix in a touch of guilt on Usagi's part and blend it all with power from the Ginzuishou and what do you get? A "cat"-astrophy, that's what! Usagi finds out that that Luna has it a lot harder than she eve


I've got a very strange sense of humor. Part of it is the way I see   
things and part of it is the way I hear things. I was driving in the   
car with my 15 year old daughter when an ad on the radio exclaimed,   
"suits, dresses and more on sale!" I, of course, heard it as "suits,  
dresses and moron sale!" Who knew you could get morons at bargain   
prices? Then there are the ads that shout, "Thinking about a new car?  
Well, think no more!" Now there's an endorsement if ever I heard one…  
'm quite sure Detroit would love it if we all went like well heeled   
lemmings to our nearest car dealer and dropped a small fortune on a   
vehicle. Thinking about things makes me write stories like this one.  
Hmmmm… Maybe it is better if I "think no more."  
  
DISCLAIMER: The following says it all:  
  
Sailor Moon and her friends I don't own.  
But all lawyers please leave me alone.  
Please don't take me to court,  
'Cause my cash flow is short,  
And you just can't get blood from a stone.  
  
  
  
  
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"By The Light of a Silver(y) Millennium Moon"  
  
By Meara  
  
*************************************************  
  
  
It was the rarest of astronomical phenomenon. The planets Venus,   
Mercury, Mars and Jupiter were lined up with Earth in a pattern not   
seen, as best they could calculate, in a thousand years. The angle   
of the planets in relation to Earth's moon caused the sun's ray to   
refract off it in a stunning manner. The moon appeared larger than  
normal, dominating the nighttime sky. It shone with an intense   
silver light that seemed to cast a magical glow over everything it  
touched. Some over paid pundit, with too much time on his hands,   
declared it to be a "silver millennium" moon.   
  
The heirs of the Silver Millennium, the Sailor Senshi, were honoring  
this event by gathering together and sharing their collected wisdom.  
The Hikawa Temple was the perfect spot. It held an air of solemn   
mystery that invited one to pause and consider what was really   
important in this life.  
  
"Sports bras," said Makoto. "Once you tried them, nothing else will   
do."  
  
"Sports bras?! Are you kidding, Mako-chan? It feels like someone's   
tied an ace bandage around my bust," replied Minako. "Push ups are   
what I go with. Not that I need one," she finished hastily.  
  
Mako shook her head. "Geez, Minako, a push up bra? You try jumping   
off rooftop in one of those and the whiplash alone will put you in bed  
for a week".  
  
Ami thought a moment. "Well, the kinetic energy engendered by a leap   
of that magnitude, while certainly painful, shouldn't actually cause   
injury." She ignored her friends as they all groaned her name.   
"Besides, you can only get whiplash in your neck, not your.."  
  
"Marshmallows?" asked Usagi as she opened the paper door. She was   
attempting to push the door with her foot and hold a tray of hot   
chocolate in her hands. "There wasn't any whipped cream left, sorry."  
  
Rei was right behind her with another tray, this one full of cookies.   
"That's because a certain odongo brained piggy sucked the last can   
dry." She put the tray down and mimicked the motion of someone   
shooting a can of whipped cream into their mouth. "Gross!" mumbled   
Rei.  
  
Usagi carefully put down the tray and blushed a bright red. "There   
was only a tiny bit left anyway. Hey, wait a minute, I bought three   
cans of the stuff yesterday and left them in your refrigerator, Rei.   
How come there was only a part of one left?"  
  
It was Rei's turn to blush, but she just kept on serving her friends.   
"I'm sure I have no idea."  
  
"Nope, Rei has no idea what happened. She never heard that little   
voice calling her." Mako cupped her hands over her mouth and did   
her best imitation of a can of whipped cream. She spoke in a high,   
thin voice. "Hino Rei, I'm in the 'fridge, all alone and waiting for  
you…"  
  
The girls dissolved into giggles. Luna, who had been resting off to  
one side, sighed and stretched. She padded toward the door.  
  
"Hey, Luna, where are you going?" Usagi asked. "We're going to do   
makeovers later."  
  
The lunar cat half closed her eyes. "Heaven forbid I miss that! This  
is a once in a thousand-year occurrence and you use the opportunity   
to have a party, Usagi. Really, what would Queen Serenity say?"  
  
She'd probably tell you to chill and have some fun for change. Give   
me a break Luna, I can't be working all the time."  
  
Luna gave her "The Look". "It would be nice if you'd try working some  
of the time. You're going to be Queen someday. You can't fritter   
your life away being silly. You're going to have…"  
  
"Responsibilities," finished Usagi. "I know, I know, blah, blah,   
blah."  
  
The cat moved in front of her charge's legs, tripping her. Usagi,   
as always, fell backwards with an ungraceful thump. Luna jumped onto  
Usagi. She walked up her with stiff legs and tail, anger in every   
line of her body. She placed her paws on the broach that held the   
Ginzuishou and leaned forward so that her face was only inches from   
Usagi's.   
  
"I don't know why I even bother talking to you. You never listen to   
me - never! Just you wait Usagi, someday soon you'll find out exactly   
what it's like for me and then you'll be sorry!"  
  
Luna used her right paw to whack Usagi in the face as she jumped from  
her. Turning once to look back at the Moon Princess she couldn't   
resist a parting shot.   
  
"Really sorry!" She disappeared in the mysterious way only cats can,   
leaving a completely stunned Usagi.  
  
"What was that all about?" Usagi asked, stumbling to her feet. Her   
sternum was sore from Luna standing on the broach. She rubbed at it   
for a minute.   
  
Minako waved a derisive hand. "Oh, don't worry about Luna. She and  
Artemis had a huge fight this afternoon. Luna is royally ticked off   
at him and taking it out on you. I'm sure she didn't mean what she   
said."  
  
Whatever comment Usagi was about to make went straight out of her head  
as the tray of chocolate chip cookies made its way around to her. In   
the ranking of things in the universe according to Tsukino Usagi,   
food was number two, right behind kissing Mamoru. Well, at times,   
maybe number one, she decided as she bit into the still warm   
chocolate confection.  
  
The friends spent the next several hours, eating, talking, laughing   
and trying increasingly bizarre hairstyles on one another. Finally,   
exhausted by the rigors of cosmetology, they collapsed onto their   
futons. Mako, Ami and Rei were sleeping like the sandman had whacked  
them on the head with a two by four, but Usagi was still awake.   
Minako was half way to sleep when she heard Usagi sigh. She rolled   
over onto one arm.  
  
"What's up, girlfriend?"  
  
Usagi sighed again. "I shouldn't have been so hard on Luna. She  
really does do a lot for me and I guess I just take it for granted.   
Maybe I should have gone after her tonight."  
  
"Like I said she and Artemis had a big fight. They're probably making  
up right now, so don't worry. After all," Minako said with a wink,   
"You know the old saying, 'two's company, but three is loud".  
  
"A crowd, Minako-chan, it's 'two's company, but three's a crowd'!"  
  
"Whatever…" the Senshi of Venus gave a large yawn before settling   
back on her bed.  
  
Usagi lay down to sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about Luna. For  
openers, because it still hurt where the cat had jumped onto her   
transformation broach. Usagi might have taken it off, but that would   
have given Luna something else to nag her about. Sighing as she   
ignored her tingling sternum, Usagi got comfortable. First thing in   
the morning she'd find Luna and apologize. As sleep began to over  
take her, Usagi watched a shaft of moonlight come through the window.  
It refracted through the ancient glass spilling into a thousand tiny   
rainbows. She was asleep when the rainbows of light danced about her   
still form.  
  
The sun had been up for hours by the time Usagi deigned to stir. She  
was so comfy in her nice, soft, warm bed. The blankets made her feel   
as if she was wearing a coat made of the finest exotic fur. With a   
sigh, Usagi rolled over and right off the bed. With a graceful twist,  
she landed on her feet.   
  
All four of them.  
  
"AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!! OhmyGodohmyGodogmyGodohmyGod!" The rich,   
piercing quality of her shriek was not diminished by the new state of  
her body. She bolted across the room in full voice, jumping on Rei's   
face on her way to the mirror.   
  
The Senshi of Mars rose with a curse. Rounding on the location of   
the undulating wail she was prepared to remove Usagi's liver without  
benefit of anesthesia. The sight that greeted her stopped her in her   
tracks.  
  
There, with two paws up on the full length mirror was a cat. A cat   
with golden fur the same hue as Usagi's hair. As the feline turned   
toward her, Rei could see a small, silver crescent moon on the beast's  
forehead. A silver collar with a small crescent moon that held a   
tiny silver crystal completed the look. It turned to her and shrieked in Usagi's voice.  
  
"OH MY GOD!! I'M A CAT!!!!"  
  
Rei could only gape at her.  
  
  
The cat continued to wail as the other Senshi got up. Through sleep  
fogged eyes, one by one they realized the situation. Passing looks   
of stupefaction around, Minako finally asked the question that they   
were all thinking.  
  
"Umm,..Rei. Why is that cat screeching in Usagi's voice?"  
  
Rei took a moment before giving the only reply logic would allow her  
to. "Because that cat is Usagi; I think. Usagi, is that…you?"  
  
The cat didn't answer but continued to wail in that particularly   
piercing way only Usagi could seem to achieve. She continued on for  
several very long minutes before pausing to take a deep breath. Luna  
made her appearance in the room at this most inopportune of times.  
  
"What is all the noise in…here…" her voice trailed off as she saw the  
golden feline. Before Luna could react, Usagi dashed across the room   
and into her, knocking her down. Some things never changed, it seemed.  
  
"Luna put me back the way I was!" bellowed Usagi. "I'm sorry and   
I'll always listen to you from now on, but please fix me!"  
  
Luna pushed the agitated Moon Princess off her. "I had nothing to do  
with this," she told her primly. "You do look very nice, however.   
he little crescent moon is a nice touch, very dignified indeed!"  
  
Usagi sat on her haunches. "What do you mean you had nothing to do   
with this? If you didn't, who did? How did this happen to me?" She  
began to cry once more. "It isn't fair! I don't want to be a cat!"  
  
Minako scooped the feline princess up. She began to gently rub the   
sensitive spot in front of Usagi's pointed ears. The pretty golden   
furred soldier of love and justice calmed right down, tucking her legs  
under her until she resembled a kitty meatloaf.   
  
"This always works with Artemis," Minako whispered to Ami.   
  
"This must be the work of a new enemy," growled Rei. "No one puts a  
curse on one of my friends and gets away with it! Wait right here,   
I'm going to fix this mess!" She dashed out the door.   
  
Rei returned scant seconds later with a prayer fan and some of her   
patented paper charms. "Okay, Usagi you sit here," she indicated a   
spot in the middle of the room. "Everyone else stand back."   
  
Usagi wasn't too sure about this, but was desperate enough to try just  
about anything. Rei solemnly clapped her hands together. She picked   
up the prayer fan and began to move in a prescribed mystic pattern.   
Chanting as she went, Rei pulled out one of the paper charms and put   
it to her own face.   
  
"By the power of Light, I command this evil to be gone! Aku Ryo Tai   
San!" The paper glowed and stiffened. Jumping in front of Usagi,   
the Shinto Miko slapped it on her kitty forehead and shouted, "Fire   
of justice, release your wrath now!"   
  
In years to come, Rei would realize that using that particular phrase  
was probably the biggest error she made that day. The paper,   
predictably, burst into flame. The fire did nothing to change Usagi   
back into a human, but it did a fine job of blasting off her kitty   
eyebrows. With a shriek of pain, Usagi jumped straight up into the   
air and executed a perfect 180-degree turn. She hit the ground   
running and kept on going. Rei took off after her and the other   
Senshi took off after Rei.  
  
In a quiet room Kumada Yuuichirou sat patiently in the proper student  
position before his learned Sensei. He waited until the elderly man   
had finished his meditations before daring to speak.  
  
"Sensei-sama, may I speak with you on a matter of great importance?"  
  
"Hai," replied the old man, "I feel you wish to speak to me of my   
grand-daughter."  
  
Yuuichirou bowed his head in respect. "You are correct as always,  
Sensei-sama. I have spent many days considering my true feelings   
towards Rei. I think I may love her and wish, when you give   
permission of course, to court her as my future wife."  
  
A smile lit the face of the small, Buddha-like man. "You are wise   
beyond your years, my student. Rei has grown in wisdom as well as   
beauty. Her gentle, healing touch is much admired in our community.  
It is good that you seek my advice before considering the joys of   
marriage. Rei…"  
  
What ever Grandpa was going to say was cut off as the ground began to  
rumble with the pounding of feet. There was a almost human wailing   
that was getting progressively closer. He and Yuuichirou watched as   
a small golden cat with a smoking forehead ran past them, her   
shrieking changing pitch as she moved off at an amazing rate of speed.  
Rei was just behind the feline. She paused and raised a fist that  
held another of her paper charms.   
  
"Come back here, you ungrateful moron! I can help you!" She raced   
off after the cat followed by her friends in hot pursuit.  
  
Yuuichirou and Grandpa looked at each other in silence for a moment.  
Grandpa raised one finger sagely. "Then again, I am also told that   
the single life isn't all that bad."  
  
For someone who had never been a cat before, Usagi was remarkably   
agile. She hopped up a tree and then was over fence before the others  
could stop her. The sound of her wailing faded into the distance as  
Usagi dashed away.   
  
Luna stopped at the temple gate. "No, Usagi, come back!" she shouted  
while the girls thundered up beside her.  
  
Makoto was the first to reach Luna. "Usagi no baka! What do we do   
now?"  
  
Ami was hard on her heels. "We should split up. There are only so   
many places Usagi can get to on foot, un, I mean paw. Mako-chan, you  
take the arcade, I'll head for her house."  
  
"Sounds like a plan" said Rei, "Minako go to Naru's. She just might   
end up there. God knows every Youma in creation seems to.   
  
"Right," replied Minako, "Time to beat the rushes!"  
  
"Bushes, Minako! It's time to beat the bushes!" shouted Rei after   
her.  
  
"Whatever…" came the faint reply as the Senshi of Venus sped off.  
  
Ami looked at Rei. "Rei, I think it would be best if you stayed here  
with Luna. I don't think that Usagi would ever slow down if she saw   
you chasing her. Consult the sacred flame to see where she went. If  
that doesn't work, try using the phone to check around for her."   
Ami started to dash off. "I'll use my communicator if I find anything!"  
  
***************************************  
  
It was the better part of two miles before Usagi slowed down enough  
to realize that she'd lost Rei and her incandescent charms. Huffing  
with oxygen debt, she leaned on a wall. The furry future queen of   
the world looked around. It slowly dawned on her that she hadn't   
the slightest clue where she was.   
  
"I'm lost," Usagi mumbled to herself. Her stomach growled loudly,   
protesting her lack of breakfast. "And I'm really hungry."   
  
As the breeze picked up, Usagi discovered that her sense of smell had  
been heightened. Lifting her pert, little nose to the wind, her mind  
separated and identified all the various scents. When she came to   
"tuna" she concentrated on it. Inhaling greedily, Usagi padded of   
in the direction it came from.   
  
Down the street, around the corner and on the stairs of an old   
building was a wizened old woman with a small, chipped porcelain bowl   
of tuna at her side. Usagi paused, not quite sure what to do. The grandmotherly lady smiled and clucked softly to her.   
  
"Come on, kitty, kitty, kitty. Oba-san's got a little treat for   
you."   
  
In the battle between Usagi's brain and stomach, her brain rarely   
won. Today was no exception. She burst up the stairs and pushed her   
face into the bowl. The thought that she had never liked tuna until  
now crossed the part of her mind not involved in eating.  
  
The old woman ran gnarled hands over her back. "Well, you're not my   
regular visitor, but that's all right. Oh, poor kitty! Your face   
is burned! Don't you worry," she crooned as Usagi snarfed the fish   
down, "granny's got just the thing to help you."   
  
With nimble fingers that belied her age, Granny took out a Band-Aid   
and put it on the cat's forehead, covering her crescent moon. Usagi   
looked up from the bowl. Something nagged at her memory; something   
about Luna and Band-Aids.   
  
The memory became much clearer as she attempted to thank the old   
woman but instead went, "Meow." She slapped a golden paw over her   
mouth in horror. Clearing her throat, Usagi tried again with the   
same results. Oh yes, now she remembered! The first time she'd ever  
seen Luna (in this life anyway) was when she'd rescued her from a   
gang of small boys. Luna had thanked her for taking the Band-Aid off  
of her forehead, because she couldn't…  
  
Oh shimatta, Usagi cursed to herself, now she remembered! Luna   
couldn't talk with the Band-Aid covering up her moon sigil. She   
clawed furiously at the sticky thing, but the Band-Aid wouldn't come  
off. Deeply regretting her lack of an opposable thumb, Usagi dashed   
off once again. No matter how hard she tried, all she could do was   
make an assortment of cat sounds. How was she going to get help if no  
one could understand her?  
  
The answer came to her almost at once. It was so simple she knew   
that she should have thought of it sooner. No matter what happened,   
there would always be one person who would know what was in her heart,  
someone who knew her deepest feeling, her secrets, her very soul.   
She had to get to Mamoru.   
  
The street she was on merged into a main thoroughfare. Usagi recognized it  
and signed in relief. Padding to a nearby stop, she jumped onto the bench to wait for the number 715 bus, no matter how long it took.  
  
Artemis had been wandering all over Tokyo. He'd had a colossal fight with Luna over the attention he'd given to an attractive Persian that had crossed his path. Luna had been furious for no reason he could think of. It wasn't as though they were Life-mates (although Luna seemed to bring that subject up quite a bit lately). Well, he didn't need her either, he decided. He'd show her. There was more than one way to skin a human, after all.  
  
As Artemis turned the corner he beheld a sight that made him stop in his tracks. There, sitting on a bench, like a vision, was the most beautiful female he'd ever seen. She was the color of the sun as it rose above the trees in the morning. Her legs were long, slender and had tapering shanks. Her head was delicate, almost regal and her whiskers shone like silver in the light. When she turned, Artemis saw that her almond shaped eyes were like the sky on a cloudless spring day. She sat with her tail curved coquettishly around her front legs, oblivious to his gaze. She was perfect, a queen among cats. And, best of all, she seemed to be alone.  
  
Artemis flagged his white tail above the center of his back. He stepped with deliberate care so that it would just brush along the bottoms of her ankles as he passed by. Using his wide peripheral vision, he could see that she turned to look at him as he passed. Yes! Keeping himself nonchalant, he hopped up onto the bench next to her. He gazed deep into her aquamarine eyes, sure that he could almost read what she was thinking.  
  
Is that Artemis, Usagi wondered? What the hell is he doing?  
  
The white cat moved ever so slightly closer to her. He let his tail fall across her back. Leaning nearer, he purred in her ear.  
  
"Hi there," he drawled lazily, "I don't believe we've met. I'm Artemis and you, my dear, are simply perfection." The lovesick   
lothario was encouraged when the female tapped him on the shoulder. He must be impressing her if she was giving him love taps.  
  
Usagi whacked Artemis on the shoulder again. Get away from me, she thought. How do you make these claws work, anyway?  
  
Undaunted, Artemis leaned into her and rubbed the side of his head against her chin. "Come with me, my darling. I know the most wonderful outdoor bistro run a by an elderly friend of mine. The tuna there is simply divine!"  
  
Usagi knew all about Granny's restaurant and first aid station. She had no wish to go back there, or anywhere else for that matter, with an increasingly ardent Artemis. He snuggled even closer, placing his   
right front paw on hers. He looked into her bottomless blue eyes and sighed. What passion they held, what fire, what life!   
  
What a jerk, Usagi thought with increasing annoyance! I don't believe this. Luna's boyfriend is hitting on me! What did it take for him to get the message and go away? She stood up and moved to the opposite end of the bench. Usagi did her best to imitate Luna and gave him, "The Look".  
  
This just keeps getting better, Artemis mused, more than a little drunk with love. He washed one paw and ran it over his head. He had to look his best as he made his move. The white cat slowly stood up. With slow, deliberate steps, he sauntered over to sit on the other side of his dream girl. Usagi refused to even look at him, hoping that he'd get the hint and take off.   
  
Artemis slowly began to wash the side of her face. "I adore it when you play hard to get, my sweet," he purred.  
  
The bus that she'd had been waiting over two hours for, happily chose that moment to arrive. Usagi leapt for the open door, leaving poor Artemis to fall off the bench when she was no longer there to hold the love struck feline upright. He recovered just in time to see the female of his dreams disappear into the crowd attempting to board.   
  
"It could have been so sweet," he called after her. "But it's better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all!" Artemis watched with a sinking heart as the bus belched roiling fumes and moved away. How would he ever find her again?  
  
***************************************  
  
Chiba Mamoru's day had been long, difficult and not good at all. The lights in the elevator flickered as it moved, creaking and moaning like it was possessed, to his floor. The doors were not working correctly and started to close on him as he was half way out. He gave the malfunctioning machine a thump with his forearm. It slowly moved out of his way. It wasn't until he was almost to his apartment that he noticed the gaping hole in the shirtsleeve.   
  
Cursing silently, he wondered how he was going to find the time, never mind the cash, to replace his shirt. His least favorite professor had just assigned a paper due next week. He wanted to be a doctor, Mamoru fumed. So why on earth did he have to write a paper on Shakespeare's "King Lear"? Visions of asking future patients questions such as, "So, Madam, just how long has your iambic pentameter been acting up?" filled his head.  
  
As if that wasn't enough, not only was his motorcycle making strange noises, but the tuna sandwich he'd had, hours ago, for lunch was attempting to eat its way out of his stomach (though why he'd chosen tuna was still a mystery – normally he hated the stuff). Worst of all, he had to have dinner with Usagi's family tomorrow. It wasn't that he didn't like his In-Laws-to-be. It's just that Usagi's father always made him feel as if the ground opening up and swallowing him whole would be a good thing.   
  
Mamoru sighed as he unlocked his door, wanting nothing more than a little bland dinner and with luck, some time with his Usako. The cool air wafting through the hole in his shirt alerted him to the open window in the living room. That was odd, Mamoru thought, he could have sworn he'd shut it all the way when he left for school this morning. Grateful that it hadn't rained, he moved to shut it when he saw something out of the corner of his eye.  
  
There was a cat on his couch.   
  
No, correction, there was a sleeping cat on his couch. Mamoru looked at it as he moved silently across the darkened room. The feline was sleeping soundly on it's stomach. Oddly enough, there seemed to be some kind of bandage on its head. It wasn't Luna or Artemis, the color was wrong. It couldn't belong to one of his neighbor's. The landlord was allergic to cats and strictly forbade them in the building. Logic dictated that it must be a stray. This was just as well. Mamoru had never told anyone, not even Usagi, but he really didn't like cats. Luna and Artemis were different. He'd never considered anyone who could be a fourth for bridge a cat, even if they did have a tail.   
  
Mamoru went into his tiny kitchen. Selecting a sturdy box, he lined it with a few old rags. Moving with care, he went to the sleeping feline and picked it up. The cat was very deeply asleep, so totally relaxed it didn't seem to have any bones, just a bundle of fur that oozed over his hands as he placed the comatose feline in the box, securing the lid tightly.  
  
The golden feline never even stirred when he placed the box in his closet, closing the door quietly. He'd drop the whole thing off at the animal shelter on his way to the library later and consider the matter closed. He removed his torn shirt and headed for the bedroom. His luck was running true to form. The telephone rang just as he was at the halfway point between rooms. He grabbed for the phone, but too late. The cat in the box was awake and howling like it was being tortured by the Spanish Inquisition.   
  
"Yes! What?!" he shouted into the phone. Damn, but that miserable little beast had a penetrating voice! "You'll have to speak up, I can't hear you!"  
  
Rei was shouting into the phone at her end. "I said, 'it's Rei!' Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you all day."  
  
"Is this important, Rei? I'm kind of in a hurry."  
  
"Have you seen Usagi today?" Rei asked.  
  
Mamoru was alarmed. "No. Is there something wrong with her?"  
  
Rei hedged. "Let's just say she's not herself." It took a moment, but Rei suddenly realize what the noise in the background was. "Do I hear a cat?"  
  
"Yeah, some stray wandered into here and made itself home on my couch. I've got it in a box in my closet for now. I was going to drop it off at the shelter later. Why, do you want it?"  
  
Not really, thought Rei, but I seem to be stuck with her. "Mamoru, listen to me carefully. Do not let that cat escape under any circumstances. Keep it in the box. And most importantly, do not open the box until I get there. Do you understand?"  
  
Yes, but…"  
  
"No buts," shouted Rei. "Just do it!" She slammed down the telephone. "Luna! Usagi is at Mamoru's! Haul your little kitty butt into my car!" She picked up her communicator and told the other Senshi where to meet her.  
  
The moon was beginning to rise during the relatively short ride to Mamoru's. The day had been long and extremely frustrating. As a result, Rei's temper was even shorter than usual.   
  
"How the hell am I going to tell Mamoru that he's got his Princess, the future Queen of Earth, his Fiancée for Kami's sake, stuck in a box in his closet because she's a freaking cat?!" She swerved to avoid hitting a large truck that was parked on the side of the small   
street. "Are you sure you didn't have anything to do with this Luna? You did threaten that Usagi would know what you go through someday soon". Rei leaned on the horn and shouted at the driver in front of her to move it or lose it.  
  
"I was talking about Chibi-Usa," replied Luna trying not to hyperventilate from fear. "She's not the easiest child in the world to raise, after all." Rei was an excellent Senshi of Mars, but as a motorist she left a lot to be desired. As with many religious, she always drove as if she didn't fear death; hers or anyone else's, for that matter.  
  
The other girls were waiting for Rei and Luna at the curb. They rode up in the elevator together in silence as no one knew exactly what to say. It isn't every day your friend gets turned into a cat. Even if they hadn't known where Mamoru's apartment was, the sound of Usagi's wailing would have led them right to it. Mamoru opened the door before Rei could knock a second time.  
  
"Thank God you're here. How do you get that thing to shut up?" He asked, obviously at the end of his rope.  
  
"I'll handle it," volunteered Ami. She disappeared into the small closet and closed the door behind her.  
  
Luna turned to Rei. "You have to tell him, Rei-Chan."   
  
Mamoru was getting nervous. "You have to tell me what? What is wrong?"  
  
Rei hesitated for a fraction of a second. "Look, there's no easy way to tell you this, so I'm just going to say it." Makoto pulled Mamoru toward a chair, mumbling that he'd need it. Rei took a deep breath and blurted it out in a rush. "Usagi is a cat."  
  
Mamoru snorted unhappily. "Look Rei, I know you and Usagi fight sometimes, but you're being unfair to her."  
  
"No, Mamoru," everyone looked down at Luna. "She means that literally. Usagi-is-a-cat."  
  
From the closet came the sound of a bandage being ripped off followed by Usagi's voice shouting "Owww! That hurts!"   
  
Mamoru looked at his closet in complete confusion. "Usako?" he called.  
  
"All right, I've got her calmed down," came Ami's voice from the closet. "Is everyone ready out there?"  
  
The door opened slowly. All conversation stopped as Ami came out. She stopped and looked back into the darkened area. "It's all right, Usagi, just come on out."  
  
Usagi's voice came from the closet. "Mamo-Chan, are you there?"  
  
"Yes," he replied in an uncertain tone.   
  
"Remember how you always say that you'll love me no matter what?"   
  
"Yes," he repeated, even more uncertain this time.  
  
A small cat the color of a newly minted gold coin stepped into the room. She looked up at him with Usagi's eyes. He began to put it all together when the feline sat down and whimpered.  
  
"Well, this is the 'what' part."  
  
Mamoru sat down hard, the gravity of the situation overcoming him. He was stunned. In fact, he looked suspiciously like he'd been hit in the face with a wet mackerel. They'd overcome a lot of seemingly insurmountable obstacles over the years, but this one took the cake.   
  
Usagi went over to her prince and jumped up on the chair next to him. She climbed into his lap and looked at him with large, blue eyes. "I know we have a little problem, but we can work this out."   
  
Work it out, he thought to himself? She was a cat! A different species! In any civilized place in the world he'd most likely be   
arrested for trying to kiss her, never mind get married! "I don't suppose anyone has come up with a way to change you back?" he managed to ask in a reasonably calm voice.  
  
Tears welled up in her almond shaped eyes. "Would you please pet me for a while?" She leaned into him with her singed forehead. "I think it'll help me to stay calm."   
  
With out a word, the future King of Earth began to pet his Queen with a gentle stroking motion that ran down the length of her golden back. She purred and settled on his lap. Mamoru didn't want to think about what Usagi's father would say if he could see them at this moment. The thought of the earth opening up and swallowing him whole didn't seem so awful right about now.   
  
A rustle of activity in the open window heralded the arrival of Artemis. He'd headed for Mamoru's after striking out with every female he'd come across. The white cat needed the sympathetic company of another guy. Someone who understood life's vast complexities, and could deal with them rationally.  
  
Artemis took one look at the golden cat in Mamoru's lap and his day brightened. "Hey! You found her!" He jumped up onto the arm of the chair and smiled his most charmingly at the female. He let his tail fall over her back.  
  
"How did you know that Usagi was turned into a cat?" asked Minako.  
  
The tail went straight up and off the feline princess. Artemis stared at the object of his affections, what little color he had left his face draining away. Usagi, he thought? That just isn't possible. Luna's eyebrows shot up in alarm. She hadn't missed the look he'd given Usagi or that bit with his tail. She knew her sometimes boy friend a little too well.   
  
Her eyes narrowed and she hissed at him. "Yes, Artemis, just how did you know that Usagi is a cat?"  
  
Artemis's faced turned an even paler shade of white if that was possible. He gave a halfhearted laugh and looked at his dream girl on Mamoru's lap. "Oh, un, that's because I have.. ways. Yes, ways of knowing things you don't!"   
  
Luna was giving him "The Look". The angry black cat took a step toward him and his life flashed in front of his eyes. Oh, Lord, he thought as he laughed nervously, she knows. Please take me now, 'cause Luna's going to kill me anyway.   
  
"I've been thinking about this – problem- all day," said Ami, coming to Artemis's rescue. "What ever happened, we know three things about it. One, Usagi was a human when she went to bed last night. Two,   
she was a cat when she woke up this morning. Three," she looked directly at Rei, "It is not a curse."  
  
Rei grumbled that she still wasn't sure about that and fingered the paper charms she'd brought in her pocket – just in case.   
  
Ami continued. "Also, we all ate and drank the same things. We all breathed the same air. All of us have been in the room a hundred times."  
  
Minako spoke for them all. "We get the idea, Ami. You've obviously got a solution in mind so let's hear it. You know the old saying, 'Let's cut to that space'!".  
  
"That's 'chase' Minako-chan, " said Mako, "it's 'let's cut to the chase'!"  
  
"Whatever…" Minako waved her hand derisively.  
  
The Senshi of Mercury was methodical. "I've looked at it from every angle I can think of. The only difference last night was the full moon – the Silver Millennium Moon. It can't be just a coincidence. As the Moon Princess, Usagi is tied to the lunar cycle more than most of us. We all know that tides on earth are physically affected by the Moon. Perhaps, in this case, Usagi was too."   
  
Luna turned her head from side to side, considering the idea. "I suppose it's possible. Usagi-chan, what were you thinking about last night just before you went to sleep?"  
  
The delicate feline Princess was slowly kneading Mamoru's pants to shreds with contentment. She roused herself enough to answer. "Well, a lot of thing, really."  
  
Minako popped up. "Wait a minute, Usagi. Remember what you said to me just before you went to sleep?"  
  
"What? That three's a crowd, not three is loud?"  
  
"Luna! You were worried about Luna!" Minako looked very pleased with herself. "That's it!"  
  
"This is beginning to make sense now." Ami went over to where Mamoru sat quietly with his somewhat changed fiancée. She noticed that his eyes were glazed and he seemed to be sweating. She supposed that   
having your one, true love turn into a cat could put anyone into shock. "Luna, when you talked to Usagi, you were standing on her henshin broach, remember? We've learned over the years that a lot of the Ginzuishou's power comes from what is in Usagi's heart. What was in her heart last night, was what you said to her – someday soon you'll know what I go through. Add a little guilt and some unexpected power from the moon and voila! Usagi is a cat!"  
  
"But how do we fix it? How do I turn back into me again?" Usagi rolled onto her side, stretching out as Mamoru rhythmically stroked her. "Oooh," she moaned, lost in a sensual euphoria, "that feels sooo good!"  
  
Artemis leaned over and whispered in Mamoru's ear. "You know, I never understood what you saw in her; until now!"  
  
"Would you two like to be alone?" asked Minako with forced sincerity, as she scooped up a protesting Artemis.  
  
Ami ignored them both. "Well, it follows; if you're a cat because you somehow thought you should be one, perhaps if you think about becoming a human again, you'll change back. Do you still have the Ginzuishou?"  
  
Sitting up Usagi placed one paw on her chest, where her transformation broach should be in her human form. "I think so. I think I can feel it." She closed her exotic eyes and mentally called. The crystal appeared between her out-stretched front paws, glowing softly. "Got it!"  
  
"Let's keep this simple, Usagi. Try to use the crystal's healing powers," said Ami.  
  
Usagi looked up at Mamoru, gaining courage from the love and growing sense of desperation she saw in his eyes. Taking a slow breath, she fixed the image of her human self in her mind. "MOON HEALING – ESCALATION!"  
  
No one could really say whether it was the power of the crystal or of the luminous moon reflecting through its many facets that filled the small apartment with rainbow light. As it faded to silver, each of them felt more than heard it's song of joy as the power conformed itself to the will of the Moon Princess. When the dancing lights cleared, there, on Mamoru's lap was Usagi – a human Usagi still in her nightgown. She squealed with glee and hugged Mamoru. "It worked! Oh Ami-chan, how can I ever thank you!"  
  
Modest as always, Ami blushed a soft pink.   
  
Usagi patted her lap and Luna jumped up into it. "I'm sorry Luna. You're right. I have been taking you for granted. I saw today that it isn't easy for you to be who and what you are," she glanced at the white cat in Minako's arms, "for a whole lot of reasons. From now on I'm going to take my responsibilities more seriously. With your help, I'm going to be Queen someday, I have to remember that."  
  
Luna laughed, "This from a girl in her pajamas and fuzzy bunny slippers! Oh, I forgive you, Usagi and I'm sorry too. I was too hard on you. You deserve to have some fun while you're still young. Do you forgive me?"  
  
Usagi pretended to think about it. Mamoru kissed the top of her head. "Come on Usako, what do you say?"  
  
Minako had the last word. For once, no one jumped in to correct her.  
  
"Yeah, come on, forgive Luna. You know what they say, to err is human, but to forgive feline." 


End file.
